The very strange story of Pierre S. Cargot

Included in the annuls of wine country stories, is one probably as strange a tale as any ever told. Members who will be attending the 2014 AREA Retreat will have an opportunity to witness, first hand, the further unfolding of this story as on Tuesday morning there will be a face-off between California wine country real estate expert, John Bergman and a visitor from France, Pierre S. Cargot over the relative merits of California wines against those of France.

2014 AREA Retreat

The story has its origins in 1976 when, during a blind tasting competition held in France, the Chardonnay of Chateau Mont Elena, a winery located in Helena, California, deep in the heart of the Napa Valley, was chosen first in the world defeating the pride vintners of all of France.

A certain ageless gentlemen, Pierre S. Cargot, who witnessed this “tragedy” believes that the labels had been switched through a process called “label inversion”, which, when used in the classical manner, allows wine labels to be withdrawn from one bottle and placed on another without any trace of what may have happened. Cargot notes that this practice dates back thousands of years (actually before bottles were invented) and that it was used on urns to enhance their value. The fact that Guttenberg only invented the printing press in the 13th Century, thus making printed labels at the time, not possible, has not deterred Cargot who says that the ancient Chinese has already invented the label making process and it had come to the Middle East on the back of Yaks from the Himalayas well before the first wine tasting events featuring urns had begun.

Cargot, who received a doctorate in truffle cultivation from the Sorbet, an off-shoot of the Sorbonne, graduated at the head of his class, served honorably in several different wars including as a member of the French Foreign Legion. He attributes his ability to analyze, with flawless accuracy, to his great grandfather, Pierre S. Maginot, the designer of the famous Maginot Line that protected France during the Second World War. “Being able to strip away all of the elements of a situation, I am always able to find a credible and working solution to almost any problem. This Maginot trait, has served to separate me from the likes of John Bergman who boldly exclaim truth in the face of incontrovertible facts that contradict the very soul of their hypothesis”, he recently stated. “We all know that the Maginot Line was created to enable Dunkirk to occur so that British and French troops could take a break before returning to destroy the Nazi’s. I am disgusted when I hear that it had failed its purpose because nothing could be further from the truth.

In his biography, Cargot writes of his harrowing experience while searching for the world’s grandest truffle. He slipped, while standing on a river bank, and fell into the river, nearly drawing. When rescued he was delirious and everyone attributed that to being in Seine.

So, now his mission is to return the reputation of French wines to their previous position of glory. He will spare no expense to do just that on the morning of October 14, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. when he faces off against John Bergman.

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Former Coldwell Banker Previews International President to give keynote at AREA Retreat

May 5, 2014 – Through the good efforts of Ronna Brand, of Brand Realty, Beverly Hills, California, Betty Graham, immediate past president of Coldwell Banker Previews International, will head an all-star team of speakers and panelists that are to be featured at the 2014 AREA Retreat to be held on the 13-15th of October in Napa, California.

The event, which is the 7th annual AREA Retreat, is being held at the Embassy Suites Convention Center in Napa and will also feature Gordon McDermott, President of Auracom International; known, world-wide, as America’s preeminent language, linguistic and cultural training consultation firm.

Napa AREA Retreat

Also attending the event, as a special guest, will be Monsieur Pierre S. Cargot, a noted French wine expert, a graduate of the Sorbet and a truffle cultivator. He will debate John Bergman on the relative merits of French vs. California wines. This event could be carried on the Food Network if they wish to pick it up. Negotiations are currently not underway.

Heading up panels will be Ken Libby of Stowe, Vermont; George Harvey, Jr. of Telluride, Colorado; Chris McElroy of Fort Collins, Colorado; Cynthia Carley of Lake Arrowhead, California and Gail Hartnett of Boise, Idaho. Topics will be specially created for audience participation as well as to be unique in nature.

Panelists will include Jay West of Los Cabos, Mexico; Cathy Travis of Victoria, British Columbia; Heidi Rickard-Rizzo of Marine County, California; John Bergman of the Wine Country; Ruth Kruger of Aspen, Colorado; Ron Phipps of Warwick, Rhode Island; Don Bullock of Orlando, Florida; Miriam Dunn of Scarsdale, New York; Susan Cohan of Naples, Florida; Iris Riley, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Ryan Asoa, Arcadia, California; Rod Woelfle, Aspen, Colorado; Laurie Wing; Park City, Utah; Jeanne Radsick, Bakersfield, California; Gary Brasher, Tubac, Arizona; Joe Malec, Waterdown, Ontario; Dave Pike, Denver, Colorado; Tom Wescott of Calgary, Alberta; Ellen Francisco of Malibu, California; Patricia Pipkin of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Meri Crandall of St. George, Utah; Steve Goddard of Los Angeles, California; and Hans Hansson of San Francisco.

Attendees will enjoy an extraordinary luncheon at Tra Vigne; St. Helena’s adventure in melding Tuscany with the wine country; a guided tour of the Culinary Institute of America, which is housed in the old Christian Brothers Winery; A wind tasting adventure at the world famous Chateau Montelena Winery and, the grand finale will be cocktails and dinner at the elegant Napa Country Club.

For information please contact Carl Bosse at Associated Realty of the Americas carl@areamericas.com or 1-520-625-9207.

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